About

The Prologue to A Near Dawn is available for download on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android at:Itch.io, Steam, or Google Play! The opening introduces some of the key characters and elements to be expected - the PC version is perfectly safe to download and requires no installation (just un-Zip and play the game file), so don't be shy!

A Near Dawn is a charmingly devastating psychological thriller with amusing highs, gut-wrenching crashes, and mature themes.

When Seattle-based attorney, Sam Nichols - a victim to some disturbing psychological difficulties - takes on an important new case, he finds himself exposed to progressively dire circumstances that threaten to unravel his reality and destroy those closest to him. With his mentor's firm on the brink of collapse, Sam will have to take on a ruthless multinational corporation defended by some of the vilest people imaginable. The odds already seem out of favor, but you will soon learn that things were never as they appeared - as an even deeper conspiracy begins to emerge. Where will you find yourself if you keep untangling the threads to this mystery? You must be brave to uncover the truth!

Our Prologue introduces some of the key characters, the setting, and hints at the challenges ahead. The case seems typical. It isn't. One of the concepts for this title was to start from present day, reality as we know it, and progress down a deep well of mysteries.

A Near Dawn is a character-driven psychological thriller point and click visual novel adventure game with one part darkness and two parts humor.

We have always loved traditional adventure games with their immersive, colorful and often emotional journeys, so it should be no surprise that our project is greatly inspired by the Broken Sword, Blackwell, and Ace Attorneyseries, as well as darker titles such as Steins;Gateand even Twin Peaks.

Unique is a strong word, we acknowledge our inspiration where it comes, but here are some of the features we are proud of:

Sam is a psychologically vulnerable character. It will be up to you to guide him with every interaction and at every turn – will he choose the path of righteousness or will he give in to his dark side?

Unlike other adventures where you may repeatedly speak to a character and be nice one time, heavy-handed another, in A Near Dawn – what is said or done – is done. Whether you are polite or cruel, it will change the way others look at you. This may be as harmless as them making a joke in reference to something you did, or as serious as them hating you for the rest of the story, or worse. This also means that the game is replayable, as you will not exhaust all of your options going through it only once.

As ambitious as it sounds, one of our priorities for this project is to have fully voiced speech and narration!

We have already been working with some tremendously talented voice actors, whose work can be heard in the Proglogue, and we hope to continue in this direction, as it adds an irreplaceable cinematic quality to the experience of playing this game.

As we mentioned, our project is inspired by traditional adventure games, so A Near Dawn borrows its navigation framework from Point & Click Adventures. Unlike most Visual Novels, where you follow along with the story choosing paths to take along the away, you have more freedom to move around and explore your environment in A Near Dawn, and there will be puzzles you will have to resolve on your own.

We are obsessed with characters and exploring different types of people and personalities. While the cultural and ethnic diversity of the characters is worth mentioning, more importantly the cast features unique fleshed-out individuals that will offer a wide range of interactions over the course of the story.

If you think you have the answer, you are only looking at half of the picture. A sinister conspiracy unfolds as you begin to untangle the threads surrounding what should have been a sure bet to save your mentor’s legal firm.

You will have to explore your environment and use any means necessary to pry the truth from the ones that hold it, in order to uncover the secrets at hand.

There are multiple endings to this game, stemming from the decisions you make.

Can you save your friends? Perhaps the better question should be will you save your friends?
While there is one true ending (we hope to continue this story in a sequel in the future), the choices you make may put you in drastically different situations. There are also diverging interactions on your journey - see ‘Darkness and Light’ above.

We believe things should be fun, not depressing.... at least, not strictly depressing. This project proudly inherits some of the wit and charm of classic adventure titles such as Broken Sword (our personal favorite) to balance out the inevitable darker mature themes.

The Original Soundtrack is produced for our project by our composer Soundicate, and it is simply beautiful! It perfectly complements the story and gameplay. You can listen to a few tracks here:

We have 14 characters that appear in the story of A Near Dawn so far! Only 5 of them can be found in the Prologue, but you can meet some of the others here:

There are no fewer than two other characters that will appear in the story, but their identities will remain a mystery for a while longer!

Here are some in-game visuals from A Near Dawn:

Where are you running to, Sam?

Having lunch with your boss at a diner in Downtown, Seattle.

What would be the best approach in this situation...

Well, this is quite unsettling.

Who ordered the pasta?

What is this kid going to say?

* Android Power-up - All of our backers above the Early Wakeup Tier ($6 CAD) will receive a complimentary copy of the game on Android as soon as it is available, as well. Don't have Android? No problem, give it to a friend!

If we receive the support we are hoping for, we expect to complete A Near Dawn within ten months!Shipping is included in the tiers with physical rewards!

$2 // You get a wholehearted Thank You from the team! And we're not just saying that. Every little bit helps, so thank you! (Note: Thank yous are included in all of our rewards. :) )

$6 CAD // You get a wholehearted thank you, a Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, and your Name in the Credits!

$16 CAD // You get a Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, and a Digital Copy of A Near Dawn! The game will retail for about $17 USD.

Get the game at a special early bird price!- only 50 available!

$20 CAD // You get a Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, and a Digital Copy of A Near Dawn!The game will retail for about $17 USD.

Get the game as soon as it's released!

$26 CAD // You get a Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, and a Digital Copy of A Near Dawnand the Original Soundtrack!

We are working with a dedicated composer to produce some wonderful music for this project. Get the Game AND the Soundtrack as soon as it's released!

$26 CAD // Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, and a Digital Copy of A Near Dawn and the Digital Artbook!

We will be putting together an official digital artbook to accompany the project! It will be full of art (naturally), making-of information, and will even have some exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses at how the project has evolved. Get the Game AND the Artbook as soon as it's released!

$30 CAD // Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, a Digital Copy of A Near Dawn, the Original Soundtrack, and the Digital Artbook!

All the digital things [are] belong to you! - Get the Game, the Original Soundtrack, AND the Artbook as soon as they're released!

$35 CAD // Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, and TWODigital Copies of A Near Dawn!

Grab a copy of A Near Dawn for you and a friend! You can give the extra copy to a friend, frenemy, fan, followers, fraternal twin – the possibilities are endless!

* this reward is independent and does not transfer to other tiers

$50 CAD // Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, Digital Copy of A Near Dawn, the Original Soundtrack, the Digital Artbook, AND BETA Access!

Get all of the previous rewards, AND get an inside look at the production process as we are developing the game (BETA Access)! You will be able to experience it earlier and your feedback will influence our production!

$80 CAD // Digital Wallpaper and Icon pack, your name in the credits, Digital Copy of A Near Dawn, the Original Soundtrack, the Digital Artbook, BETA Access, and a BONUS5 x Post Card Print pack!

Get all of the previous rewards, as well as a nice assortment of 5 physical 5" x 7" Printsfeaturing characters and artwork from the game!

* price of shipping is included

$110 CAD // You get All of the Digital Rewards (Wallpaper & Icon Pack, Game, Soundtrack, Artbook), your name in the credits, Physical 5 x Post Card Print pack, and a PHYSICAL copy of A Near Dawn ON CD!

Grab A Near Dawn in your hands! We have no plans to distribute this game physically, so this reward will be exclusive to backers only!

* price of shipping is included

$150 CAD // You get All of the Digital Rewards (Wallpaper & Icon Pack, Game, Soundtrack, Artbook), your name in the credits, Physical 5 x Post Card Print pack, and a PHYSICAL copy of BOTH A Near Dawn and the Original Soundtrack on CD!

ALSO! To show our gratitude for your generous support, the creator will personally write you a Thank You Note and include an 8'' x 10'' Poster!

* price of shipping is included

$200 CAD // You get Everything from the NEAR DAWN Tier (Digital: Wallpaper & Icon Pack, Game, Soundtrack, Artbook | Physical: 5 x Post Cards, Thank You Note, Poster, Game on CD, Original Soundtrack), but then you will also --

Contribute to our game! - You can write a short message that will appear in A Near Dawn as Spam E-mail for our hero to discover. Write a note to your friends! You will be credited as a Guest Contributor!

* Limited number available - the Spam E-mail reward only transfers to other tiers if specified; price of shipping is included

$400 CAD // You get Everything from the NEAR DAWN Tier (Digital: Wallpaper & Icon Pack, Game, Soundtrack, Artbook | Physical: 5 x Post Cards, Thank You Note, Poster, Game on CD, Original Soundtrack), but then you will also --

Contribute to our game! - What’s life without a little small talk? We’ll work together to construct and explore a conversation topic between Sam and another of the characters in the game. You will be credited as a Guest Writer!

* Limited number available; price of shipping is included

$750 CAD // You get Everything from the NEAR DAWN Tier (Digital: Wallpaper & Icon Pack, Game, Soundtrack, Artbook | Physical: 5 x Post Cards, Thank You Note, Poster, Game on CD, Original Soundtrack), but then you will also --

Contribute to our game! - We will work together to design a character appearing in a cameo in A Near Dawn – could be based on you, a friend, or an idea you have. We’ll work together to flesh out their design and make them an entertaining part of the game for the main character to interact with. You will be credited as a Guest Designer!

* Limited number available; price of shipping is included

$1000 CAD // You get Everything from the SHOOTING STAR Tier (Digital: Wallpaper & Icon Pack, Game, Soundtrack, Artbook | Physical: 5 x Post Cards, Thank You Note, Poster, Game on CD, Original Soundtrack | Write a Spam E-mailmessage to a friend), but then you will also --

Contribute to our game! - Design and help write an original character appearing in A Near Dawn – could be based on you, a friend, or an idea you have. We’ll work together to flesh out their design and personality, and make them a meaningful and entertaining part of the game for the main character to interact with. You will be credited as a Guest Designer and Writer.

* Limited number available; price of shipping is included

$1200 CAD // You get ALL OF OUR REWARDS! (Digital: Wallpaper & Icon Pack, Game, Soundtrack, Artbook | Physical: 5 x Post Cards, Thank You Note, Poster, Game on CD, Original Soundtrack | Write a Spam E-mailmessage to a friend), and yes, you will also --

Contribute to our game! - Design and help write an original character appearing in A Near Dawn – could be based on you, a friend, or an idea you have. We’ll work together to flesh out their design and personality, and make them a meaningful and entertaining part of the game for the main character to interact with. You will be credited as a Guest Designer and Writer.

AND! You will become an Official Daydream Sponsor! That means you will get a digital copy of all our future products as soon as they are released!

This is a very ambitious project for an independent studio like our own, and there is so much that we want to do, but a lot of that will likely come down to the support we can receive. Our funding goals truly represent the minimums we would need to continue with this project in the capacity we have been going:

Dark Necessities // $8, 500 // Based on the investments we already made in this game, and projected costs to complete it... this should be enough to cover the bare necessities - hire freelancers to help out.

Now We're Talking // $12, 500 // Many campaigns will have this goal further down. We believe that full voice audio is fundamental to the experience of this adventure, and it is one of our top priorities to include in the finished project.

Character Power-up // $14, 500 // We would love to go a bit further with making the character art more dynamic and expressive.

Epilogue Noir // $16, 500 // Our story asks many questions. It is a mystery, after all. We would like to add a brief epilogue that shares insights into the events from a different point of view.

Pouchmon Minigame // $19, 500 // This is one of our wishlist items! In the world of A Near Dawn, Pouchmon is a popular game and toy franchise from Japan. The kids are obsessed with those trading cards! Perhaps our hero could step out of the darkness for a brief moment and discover what all the fuss is about?

Far-off Daydream Games is a small operation, with others gathered around for this united and worthy cause - to make the best game we possibly can! We believe people should be paid for their work, and so far there is not a single person who contributed to this production who has not been compensated (or will be shortly :) ).

Here is an approximate breakdown for how the funding we hope to gain will be used:

Art & Animation // 45% // We have an extremely high standard for the art in this game. By far, the most time and labor-intensive process of this project is the production of artwork. The opening sequence alone took about two months to complete! This includes Character, BG, CG art, and animation.

Writing & Programming // 12% // We are putting it together, because up to this point it has all been handled by the project lead, and a lot of it goes hand in hand with narrative design. The script for A Near Dawn is about 70% complete at this time. Additionally, much of the framework for the game has already been developed in producing the Prologue, so we have a good jumping off point for continuing the project. However, there will be many challenges ahead in developing other interface systems.

Voice Acting // 10% // We are working with some talented up and coming voice actors for this project. This helps to keep costs down, but we still hope to compensate them fairly.

Music // 8% // We have a wonderful composer we hope to continue working with on this project.

Contingency Fund // 5% // It is impossible to anticipate everything that will be required. We would like to keep a tiny contingency fund to help with unexpected things as they come up and/or to use to hire more help on the project.

Rewards // 10% // We do have many physical rewards that will be more costly to fulfill. Shipping fees are included for all of the pledge tiers.

Kickstarter Fees & Taxes // 10% // Lastly, KickStarter takes a bit for hosting our campaign, and this also includes other taxes and fees that will come up along the way.

I am an artist, animator and writer with 10 years of experience in the television animation industry. I am also the creator, writer, character artist, animator, and lead designer for A Near Dawn. You can replace any instance of 'we' on this webpage with 'I' and that would wholeheartedly apply to me, because this has truly been a passion project for me that I have been uncompromisingly putting everything I have into, in order to create the best and most engaging experience that I can.

Alexander Kaloyan // Background artist at Far-off Daydream Games

I am a digital artist with nearly 10 years of experience working in video games and animation, primarily as a background and concept artist. It is a pleasure to be a part of this project, and we hope to continue with it!

I am a piano and electronic music composer from Bandung, Indonesia. I knew right away when I was approached about this project that the creator had a very specific vision in mind. I think that we are making something special together.

Voice Talent // We have a good assortment of talented voice actors we have been working with, most of whom come from the United States.

Campaign Video // Directed and Produced by Igor Mesh // Original song "Hear You Scream" by HANIA // Music "DST - Roof Tops" by Nosoapradio.us

This project has evolved immensely since its inception. Would you believe that A Near Dawn began as a Text-Based Adventure in Twine?!It did! And it would have been finished in a month and a half, too, if it weren't for these intrusive urges to take things further, make them better, smarter, more interesting, in short - MORE EVERYTHING! If we had stayed the text-based route, we certainly wouldn't need the funding, but as things progressed, the scope of our project grew into what it is today.

We are so proud of this project, but the time and money it takes to maintain production quality at this level is considerable. We managed to produce the Prologue independently, but it will not be feasible to continue full-on production the way we have been, unless we are able to get some financial support to help with our project.

KickStarter is an opportunity to reach out directly and to ask you to help us create this project we are so passionate about!

We want to hear from you! Tell us your thoughts, feelings, deep-seeded desires - as they relate to our project, of course. :)

Even if you can't help us financially, you can still help by spreading the word about our game and campaign. Maybe you know someone who likes dark, humorous psychological thriller adventures (who doesn't?). We would be grateful if you could help share our project, it is so important to us!

Thank you and don't stop dreaming!

Risks and challenges

Like we mentioned earlier, this is an ambitious project for a small studio like our own. We managed to get this far with a lot of hard work and dedication. At the end of the day, we believe in this project! And we will continue to move along with it in whatever capacity we are able to make it the best experience we can, because we have refused to compromise quality thus far and we never will.

With that in mind, depending on the outcome of this campaign, we may be committed to producing more work than is feasible in the currently projected timeline (i.e. new character rewards).

We are here to make a great game, and when we release it will be as good as we can make it. We had to project into the future to set a deadline for release, and at this point it is reasonable. However, we do not know what can happen in the future. The point is that this project will get the time, care and attention it requires and deserves, rather than be rushed to meet an arbitrary deadline.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 6 or more
About $5

ANDROID FOR ALL!

This is a magical Power-up inspired by one of our backers and extending to all higher tiers! We plan on eventually releasing an Android version of A Near Dawn (it will take a while longer to develop and test) and we would like to include it in all of our tiers starting from Early Wakeup!

That's right, if you previously backed us and only wanted the Wallpaper and Icon Pack, you will now also get a copy of the game on Android as soon as it is available! And, of course if you are already getting the game for computer, you will now also have a complimentary Android version, as well! Don't have an Android? Give it to a friend! :)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 750 or more
About $572

Solar Eclipse

Contribute to the game! - Help design a character appearing in the game in a cameo!

It could be based on you, a friend, or an idea you have. We’ll work together to flesh out their design, and make them an entertaining part of the game for the main character to interact with. You will be credited as a Guest Designer.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 1,000 or more
About $762

Neutron Star

Contribute to the game! - Help design and write a character appearing in the game!

It could be based on you, a friend, or an idea you have. We’ll work together to flesh out their design and personality, and make them a meaningful and entertaining part of the game for the main character to interact with. You will be credited as a Guest Designer and Writer.